Marbella: 24 Beaches, Art and History

Marbella has 24 beaches along a 27-kilometre coastline.

Coast and Landscape

The beaches of Marbella offer activities including jet skiing, parasailing, kayaking and stand-up paddling. The chiringuitos combine a restaurant directly on the beach with fish and seafood from the Mediterranean region.

The section of the Senda Litoral from Puerto de Cabopino to Puerto Pesquero La Bajadilla is designated as a cycle path and can be used year-round without time restrictions. Another section of the Senda Litoral in Bahía Marbella, Las Chapas, has a 30-metre-long footbridge as well as toilet and rescue facilities.

The Dunas de Artola are a 19.27-hectare natural monument designated in 2003. They preserve the last significant remnant of the former dune belt in the province of Málaga and can be explored on foot along designated paths.

Near the Dunas de Artola stands the Torre de los Ladrones, an element of military and defensive architecture protected as a Bien de Interés Cultural. Its origins appear to date back to Roman times; it was later rebuilt by Arabs and Christians.

Sierra Blanca is the distinctive mountain massif that protects Marbella; its most visible peak is La Concha.

Other Places

Elviria, Urbanización Nueva Andalucía, Puerto Banus, San Pedro De Alcántara, Las Chapas and Artola.

Art and Historic Traces

The Museo del Grabado Español Contemporáneo opened on 28 November 1992 on the basis of an initial donation of 1,350 graphic works by contemporary Spanish artists. It is located in the former Hospital Bazán, a representative Renaissance complex of 16th-century civil architecture in Marbella’s Casco Antiguo. This complex is protected as a Bien de Interés Cultural in the Monument category.

The Museo Ralli Marbella opened in 2000. It is dedicated to contemporary Latin American and European art and displays works by, among others, Wilfredo Lam, Marc Chagall, Joan Miró, Salvador Dalí and Giorgio de Chirico. The museum houses one of the most important collections of Latin American art in Europe; admission is free.

Roman, Arab and Christian traces can be found in Marbella’s Casco Histórico. The Castillo de Marbella is the most significant surviving evidence of Muslim civilisation in the centre of Marbella and consists of two square enclosures.

Archaeology and Architectural Heritage

The Cortijo Miraflores houses the Museo de Aceite and the Municipal Archaeological Exhibition. At the same time, it is a remarkable example of Marbella’s 18th-century rural architecture.

The Termas Romanas de las Bóvedas are a Roman bath building constructed in the 2nd century AD, with seven highly vaulted rooms arranged around a central area. The Basílica Paleocristiana de Vega del Mar has a baptismal font designed for baptism by immersion.

Visits for groups are offered at the Basílica Paleocristiana de Vega del Mar on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:15 to 13:00. The mosaics of the Villa Romana de Río Verde are among the most significant mosaics preserved today due to their quality and the originality of their figurative motifs.

Festivals

The Feria y Fiestas San Bernabé honours San Bernabé, the patron saint of the city of Marbella, on 11 June.

To the main travel overview: Málaga.

More about the Destination

Relevant information for planning your trip:

Marbella: Old Town, beaches and holidays on the Costa del Sol.

More Destinations

More places in the same destination:

Atajate.